Kolok, a division of Bidvest Paper Plus, invested in Trackmatic’s Driver-Led VisibilityTM technology to transform operations and improve their supply chain visibility. Since January 2018, the organisation has seen a 39% increase in on-time departures, a 50% increase in route duration adherence, a 25% reduction in fuel consumption, and 97% in successful customer visits.
Kolok is one of the largest distributors of world leading OEM consumable printing and related products across various markets in South Africa. Kolok has eight distribution centres which service its national footprint, including its customers in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.
The organisation was battling with limited visibility into its end-to-end routes and wanted to invest in a solution that would provide the insights needed to improve driver engagement, decrease fuel consumption and costs and increase customer satisfaction. The organisation was looking for a system that would tick all these boxes while simultaneously enhancing operations, productivity and supply chain efficiencies.
“What we were looking for wasn’t completely available as a single cohesive solution,” said Mohammed Ebrahim, Operations Director, Kolok.
“Trackmatic were the first people who came to us with a system that was ready to implement and that would deliver instant results. We wanted traceability and visibility end-to-end and no other service provider had this technology at the time.”
Kolok wanted technology that would provide them with automated insight into driver behaviour and help them to manage driver efficiency. The previous system was manually driven, requiring that one person within the operations department create routes, dispatch drivers and set out the optimal delivery route sequence. They also had limited information around any delays that would impact on remaining deliveries and any further route plans.
“The old system that Kolok used had minimal driver feedback, so if a delivery failed for any reason – if the customer was not available or there was an incorrect delivery, for example – then this would only be fed back to operations when the driver returned to the depot,” added Ari Bender, Trackmatic Executive – Operations.
“Of course, this meant customers had longer wait times before items could be re-delivered or any issues resolved.”
To address the challenges around delivery efficiencies, on road execution management and control, Kolok implemented the Trackmatic Driver-Led VisibilityTM solution. Additional features such as the monitoring of vehicle and personnel licenses to ensure they were up-to-date also form part of the fleet management section of the solution. Trackmatic worked closely with Kolok to ensure that their needs were met through Trackmatic’s on-boarding process.
“By implementing Trackmatic’s Driver-Led VisibilityTM solution, they now have access to reports that deliver day-to-day insight into driver performance, route adherence, customer turnaround times and so much more,” said Bender.
“Drivers now have a platform via our mobile application to communicate to the business in real-time where the calls are recorded in the cloud. All this information is then rolled up into meaningful analytical dashboards for improved decision making.” says Bender.
The operations team monitors live dashboards and receives automatic notifications with information about what’s happening on the road, failed customer deliveries, unexpected delays or excess wait times at the customer. The team can immediately rectify an incorrect order or contact a customer to reschedule a delivery time or manage schedules to limit delays. The impact on customer delight and engagement has been significant – the tool reduces friction and keeps them updated. It has allowed Kolok to manage timing with exceptional accuracy, providing customers with personalised feedback through advanced delivery notifications. Customers’ expectations are proactively managed and they are kept informed at the critical stages of the delivery process.
“Working with Trackmatic is a pleasure, the integration process was easy and whenever we had any issues or questions they were always readily available,” said Ebrahim.
“We did our research, we met with a lot of other suppliers who made plenty of promises, but we never saw the results. With Trackmatic when you have an issue you get a response within minutes. The level of operational insight the solution provides has allowed us to streamline roles and improve our customer relationships. The results have been exceptional.”
Route optimisation has played a significant part in reducing fuel costs. Terminals have been installed in the warehouse and the drivers have been trained to use the system. They log in, enter all the invoices required for delivery and it instantly prepares the most efficient route. For the operations team, this simple change has reduced time spent on admin and allowed for them to focus more extensively on customer, process and productivity.
Patrick Phiri, Fleeting and Routing Supervisor, Kolok, added: “I used to do all this work alone, now the drivers are empowered which helps reduce my workload. It makes the driver’s jobs far easier as they can see where they are going and who their next customer is. It has completely changed how we work.”
The exception monitoring tools of the Trackmatic solution automatically sends operations a debrief document on route completion. This allows for effective review and feedback discussion around driver incidents or behaviour issues. Detailed reports enable a culture of learning and improvement which enhances driver performance and the achievement of driver KPIs (key performance indicators). It invites drivers to reflect and improve in a collaborative manner, making them feel like an important part of the process. The debriefing provides them with a way of communicating their insights and the challenges impacting themselves and the customer.
Since January 2018, Kolok has seen measurable results from the solution. The operations team has had a 39% increase in on-time departures, a 50% increase in route duration adherence, a 20% increase in route return adherence and a 15% increase in route activations and visibility. Over the three-month period, the teams have delivered on 812 successful routes at an average of 15 routes per day over 25 drivers and 25 vehicles. These increases have further impacted on customer delight with an 8% rise in on-time customer delivery arrivals, 17% decrease in turnaround times and an impressive 97% in successful customer visits.
Trackmatic’s Driver-Led VisibilityTM solution includes an in-depth array of business intelligence data, specifically designed to address the challenges facing the supply chain. Detailed reporting, responsive driver insights and live event tracking improve cost and business efficiency.
“It is incredibly exciting to visit Kolok’s offices and see how far we’ve come in such a short time and how entrenched our team and operations are,” said David Slotow, CEO, Trackmatic.
“Everything Kolok does from operations to efficiency to customer delight is driven off the back of Trackmatic and what our team has done. We are committed to putting people first and responding quickly to any customer concerns and the strength of our relationship with Kolok is a testament to the success of this ethos.”
